Arguments
College Mentors for Kids (CMFK), a program in which college students mentor elementary-aged children, is generally agreed upon as a beneficial program. It is a program where college students mentor elementary-aged children on campus. This program is a welcome solution to two huge issues in society, low education levels. Too many children from disadvantaged back grounds have no one to look up to, which also tends to lead to behavior problems. College Mentors for Kids attempts to alleviate this problem by introducing students to a college setting in a low pressure environment, all while giving them a role model. Many children either have no goals of attending college or are not able to reach them, and it is important that this is conveyed in order to shed light on the importance of familiarity with college for children. We will do this by providing statistics about the probability of children attending college. It is also important that statistics of those who are in an environment that makes college seem more like a reality are compared to statistics of those who are never in contact with college students or on a college campus. Logos would definitely cater to the logic of the viewer through such use of statistics. It is important that emphasis is placed on the fact that children need role models in their lives. Therefore, we will highlight the negative effects of not having someone to look up to. We could do this in several ways. One idea is that we will show interviews of various college students speaking on how much easier the transition to college would have been if they were more exposed to someone going through it before hand. Another way that we could show the importance of a mentor is by interviewing people who did not graduate high school about the effect having a mentor would have had on their academic careers. Personal stories, such as these, may be able to affect viewers emotionally, utilizing pathos. Short video clips from collegementorsforkids.com will be used to provide insight into how important College Mentors for Kids is on a larger scale. Interviews with CMFK president, Madeline Conrad, will be used to formulate a better idea of how the University of Kentucky’s College Mentors for Kid’s is changing lives. We will ask her to speak about her view on the reach of the program. We will also have her speak on a time that she saw a child reach a goal thanks to College Mentors for Kids. The aftermath of mentorships, especially within College Mentors for Kids, should be shown in two aspects. For one, viewers need to be shown that students are more likely to attend college after completion of the program. This could be done through the use of statistics. The improvements in behaviors of those who have mentors can be portrayed through the use of quotes from the study described in "Deconstructing Serendipity: Focus, Purpose, And Authorship In Lunch Buddy Mentoring." Using a direct quote from a study would contribute to the ethos of the argument. Pathos will make a huge reappearance in direct interviews with children, if access is available through parent permission. The relationship with their mentor through their eyes is a crucial perspective, and it would allow for the viewer to truly see a look into the heart of what College Mentors for Kids is. It would be beneficial if we could get the children to talk about their love for their mentor. Activities that they have partaken in together would also be a nice topic of conversation. Most importantly, we hope that through these interviews we could capture the hopes and dreams that these kids have and the ways in which this program is working to make them come true. College Mentors for Kids is simply wonderful, so it is essential that we adequately showcase it. We believe that using a combination of the three rhetorical techniques—ethos, logos, and pathos—would most show the true nature of CMFK. Statistics and interviews will be an essential part of this. Most importantly, it is important that we show the ways in which College Mentors for Kids change lives daily through their service to children. McKayla Hamlin